Two of a Kind
by LuckyBachi
Summary: Natsu and Lucy find some jewellery that has an ability like no other.


"Wow! This place hasn't changed a bit!"

It had been raining all night, but Natsu was in a cheerful mood; after all they were no longer on that never ending train ride and he wanted to enjoy the feel of a flat surface beneath his feet.

Lucy glanced at the boy holding the straps of his backpack in an all too delightful manner, rolling her eyes at the way he seemed to make such a mess in the mud below as he trudged along beside her. Though she supposed it was good, he always held up positive, even if they were simply here on business. They knew this town after all, she had to admit it felt a little heartwarming to see it again; even with such gloomy weather, Hargeon still had a calming feel to it. It wasn't very often that Lucy accepted a job quite like this, but Natsu had made a good point that all this jewellery was to be rescued- not stolen. They had to go and retrieve the gold that had been taken from one of the most famous jewellery stores of Hargeon and bring it back to it's rightful home. After all, the pay was good and they already knew where to go, it wasn't stealing if it was from robbers already. It was just a matter of locating the stolen goods, and bringing them back to the store owner, collect the reward and go home.

"Yeah. It's nice to see it again." She replied, glancing up at the pink mage who had now rested his arms behind his head, his strong figure making it impossible to believe he had been curled up on the seat of a train less than twenty minutes ago.

"Where do you think we should go first?"

"Well, I doubt they'll just be roaming streets. They probably have some kind of base or something unless they plan on taking somewhere else tonight." She paused, folding her arms as she scanned her own internal map. She'd been here a few times and couldn't possibly think of anywhere they would hide, this town was so open and friendly from what she could remember. Maybe Natsu could sniff something out. "What does your gut tell you?"

"It tells me I'm hungry." He replied, pulling his arms away to pet his tummy like it was starting to ache and she couldn't help but give him a flat look. Always thinking of his belly.

"Really?" She sighed, though due to her own stomach rumbling, she felt Natsu give her a lazy smile.

"You were saying?"

"I guess it can't hurt to grab some food…But we can't waste too much time, they might leave town."

"Well hey! We could ask the people in a food place if they have any ideas where the robbers could be!"

"Oh that's true! Local information could actually be really helpful." She nodded, brushing a lock of her fringe aside.

"See! Two birds with one stone."

She smiled at him gently, "What do you wanna eat?"

"Chic-"

"Fish!" Happy's voice screeched from behind her, almost causing her to fall face first into the mud below.

She laughed gently, "Okay… I know just the place."

They all moved to the nearest restaurant; the place filled with empty seats but a promising menu, it wasn't even noon yet but she couldn't help but love this place. Not that she had made it her favourite, but it was the place she had taken Natsu and Happy to when she had first met them and it just made her feel thankful and of course with the same thoughts in mind, it didn't take long for them to all have a plate full of food in front of them, and a good hour to calculate their next plan of action. They both leaned back in gratitude at stopping for food, and tucked in immediately, bowls of udon, plates of sushi, chicken, cooked fish- basically their usual for going out.

Lucy smiled as she watched the two eating in their usual pace, picking up a roll of sushi for herself with her chopsticks.

"So if we just ask one of the staff here if they know anythin' about what happened, that'll help yeah?" Natsu said between mid noodle, finishing his mouthful to tip up the bowl and drink the soup.

She raised a brow, silently wishing she had reminded him about table manners before sitting down. "Yeah, I think so. Worth the shot."

He glanced back at the waiter who had now returned to the counter, and waved his arms about slightly to get his attention.

Quickly, always showing that unnatural kindness to all costumers, the waiter hurried over to them.

"Yes sir, how can I help you? Are you enjoying your meal?"

He grinned lopsidedly, and nodded. "It was great! We were just wonderin' if you could maybe help us out."

"Oh!?" He looked a little flustered at the unknown request, tugging on the collar of his black uniform; his brown eyes watching Natsu in a strange manner that Lucy couldn't help but stifle a laugh. It was like Natsu had told him off.

Do you happen to know anything about the robbery at the jewellery store? Last Wednesday?"

"Yes, yes, the whole town is talking about it- It was a big scene and not far from here, it's been terrible for business. Less tourists in town, less costumers." He clamped a hand ove this mouth like he had spoken too much and bowed an apology.

"You don't happen to know anything about the robbers like maybe where they could be hiding?"

"Hmm..." He thought for a moment, relaxing now that the questions were being asked. "In the southwest part of the town is are the most bars and gangs, you don't want go through these alleys alone at night- especially around the old, abandoned fabric."

"Old. Abandoned. Fabric?"

"Yes, actually this town used to be very well known for it's trade in fabrics. We were one of the main suppliers here in Hargeon but the company went topsy-turvy when the owner's son took of the business. A lot of the chemicals they used to colour the material leaked out into the sewerage or is still in the piles that were left. It's an awful smell. Very overpowering."

Lucy perked in now, her nodding. She could remember going near the fabric, it really was a vibrant smell but she also had been told it was a place most people didn't like to go down.

"Okay, the Southwest. Okay thanks!"

"My pleasure." The waiter said bowing, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Nope! That's all. Thanks."

The waiter smiled, glancing to Lucy with a smile and then left the two at the table.

"So what now?"

"Well, the man said it was a place with bars and gangs-" Lucy began, setting her chopsticks down on the table.

"Yeah, sounds like a good place for a fight…" He laughed, pounding his fist into his palm.

"Well we don't want to draw attention to ourselves right away. We're going to have to be stealthy." She rubbed her thumb on her chin, squinting in thought.

"Stay quiet huh…"

Happy perked up at that, "Aye! Natsu! This means we get to be Ninja again-"

"Oh yeah!" He glanced at Lucy with twinkly eyes, "Then we can definitely be quiet."

She smiled gently, wishing she could yank those words back from Happy's mouth. This job was either going to go smoothly or it was all going to muck.

Her hopes were set on the first choice.


End file.
